Ione Skye has joined the HBO Max series “Made for Love” in a guest star role, Variety has learned exclusively. The dark comedy series follows Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a controlling tech billionaire. Soon she discovers that her
Television
E.W. Scripps will launch two digital multicast networks, Doozy and Defy TV, in July, taking advantage of the broadcaster’s expanded bandwidth for channels following its acquisition of Ion Media. Doozy is aimed at women in the 25-54 demographic who are big consumers of reality TV shows such as “Storage Wars,” “Married at First Sight,” “Hoarders”
Chris Cuomo held up a giant cotton swab on TV last May and poked fun at his brother, the governor of New York, during an interview. Now journalism observers wonder if CNN must clean up a lapse in journalism ethics. Cuomo anchors what has become CNN’s most-watched program, a 9 p.m. hour that in the
Jahmil French, who played Dave Turner on “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” died on Monday, his agent Gabrielle Kachman confirmed to Variety. He was 29. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French,” she said in a statement. “He will be remembered by many for
Sister, the upstart studio from Elisabeth Murdoch, Jane Featherstone and Stacey Snider, has signed esteemed production company Market Road Films to a first-look film and TV deal. Comprised of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and Emmy-winning director Tony Gerber, Market Road will develop and produce series and feature content in both scripted and unscripted categories.
After only premiering two years ago, in 2019, Fox’s “The Masked Singer” is already set to debut its fifth season. In turning out so much content so fast it hasn’t shied away from making updates, such as the addition of the Golden Ear in Season 4, in order to continue to draw large viewing audiences
Beta Nordic Studios, the umbrella for Beta’s production activities in Scandinavia, has acquired a majority stake in Cinenord, a leading Norwegian production banner specializing in high-end series. Founded in 2004, the company is led by Silje Hopland-Eik and Alexander Eik, the producer-director duo behind the popular Scandi series “Atlantic Crossing” and “Wisting,” as well as
March honors the trailblazing women of history, and television is joining in by highlighting their triumphs and life stories. Each day of March, MSG Networks will showcase a legendary woman in sports, including the University of Hawaii’s historic volleyball team from the early ‘70s and tennis icon Billie Jean King, for example, while Syfy is
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has invested in Dhanny Joshi (pictured, right) and Thomas Stogdon’s (left) Big Deal Films as part of its Indie Growth Fund portfolio. Initially formed as a talent management company, Big Deal Films has grown its ranks and set up shop in recent years as a fully fledged production outfit specializing in
BAFTA-nominated actors Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“The Morning Show”) and David Oyelowo (“Selma”) will lead HBO Max and BBC One psychological thriller series “The Girl Before.” The four-parter, created, written and executive produced by J.P. Delaney, is based on his bestselling novel of the same name. “The Girl Before” follows Jane (Mbatha-Raw), who moves into a beautiful,
The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) has announced the nominations for the 57th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2020 in seven categories, as well as the Outstanding Product Nominations. Among the films, TV shows and animated features nominated are “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Soul,” “Croods: A New Age,” “News of
The company that usually talks to advertisers about properties like “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Get Up!” and Goofy spent some time last week chatting with them about technologies that will probably be never mentioned on any of those programs. And yet, for Madison Avenue, the tech lingo is fast becoming more important than the entertainment. As more
BBC Three, the U.K. public broadcaster’s youth-skewing brand and the home of shows like “Fleabag” and “Normal People,” is returning as a broadcast channel. The BBC on Tuesday confirmed that the brand, which has existed as a digital offering since early 2016 when it was taken off air, will be back on TV screens in
TV companies have found a way to get an early crack at Madison Avenue billions. Now one of the nation’s biggest media buyers hopes to do the same for media businesses focused on Black consumers. Each Spring, the nation’s biggest TV companies work for millions of dollars as part of a process known as the
Cold War spy drama “Baloton Brigade” has been selected to pitch at Series Mania in Lille as part of the Berlinale-Series Mania Project Exchange. Under the terms of the partnership, now in its seventh year, one project pitched at Series Mania at Lille is invited to pitch again at the ongoing Berlin Series Market’s Co-Pro
Year by year, the Berlin Film Festival’s drama series strand and market movers closer to center-stage. As in so many ways, COVID-19 may merely accelerate that process. The Zoo Palast Berlinale Series showcase no longer screen a time-consuming 20-minute taxi ride from the festival center, but online, its titles as accessible as festival movies. For
ViacomCBS units Nickelodeon and Australia’s Network 10 have joined forces to produce children’s action-comedy series “Taylor’s Island.” They are joined in the production by Fremantle Entertainment, Nordic Entertainment Group and Screen Australia. Production of the 20 x 22-minute live action series is set to begin in Queensland, Australia from July. The finished show is intended
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the sixth episode of “Snowpiercer” Season 2. During the first season of TNT’s “Snowpiercer,” Jennifer Connelly spent her days of production crammed on-set with dozens of other performers, all representing the passengers of the titular train, then 1,000 cars long and hurtling around the
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the “Women Tell All” March 1 episode of “The Bachelor.” Chris Harrison has been the source of tension throughout the “Bachelor” franchise after his remarks defending Rachael Kirkconnell’s problematic past, and he has since been temporarily relieved of hosting duty (Emmanuel Acho has been
David Muir will start to lead breaking-news duties at ABC News, a new effort by the Walt Disney unit to rework an unorthodox arrangement involving two of its top anchors. Under a new structure, Muir will largely handle the bulk of ABC News’ special reports and news of national importance, while George Stephanopoulos, the “Good
Days after former “Bachelorette” Rachel Lindsay deleted her Instagram account due to online bullying, the producers of “The Bachelor” have released a statement in support of the star. The executive producers of the dating franchise are condemning all racist harassment of Lindsay, who they applaud for using her voice to educate the public. “As executive producers
CBS has given out a pair of pilot orders to comedy projects from Sarah Cooper and Mark Gross. Cooper’s untitled single-camera project is inspired by her book, “How to be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.” It follows three women at different stages in their careers at a male-dominated company who help each other navigate modern
Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference on Monday, Walt Disney Company chief exec Bob Chapek said he’s “not sure there’s going back” to pre-pandemic theatrical windows. Reiterating the company’s commitment to theatrical releases, Chapek reminded viewers that Disney in 2019 released 11 films that earned at least $1 billion, which “will
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix unveiled the trailer for its superhero drama “Jupiter’s Legacy,” and ESPN set the premiere date for docuseries “GOATs: The Greatest of All Time.” DATES ESPN will debut three-part docuseries “GOATs: The Greatest of All Time,” exploring star athletes through the lens of veteran sports photographer Walter Iooss, March 7
Indira Varma has joined the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed. The details of the character Varma will play are being kept under wraps. She joins previously announced series lead Ewan McGregor, who will reprise the role of Kenobi from the films. Hayden Christensen will also appear, once again playing the role
Sissy Spacek and Ed O’Neill have been cast in the lead roles of the upcoming Amazon series “Lightyears,” Variety has learned. The series follows Irene (Spacek) and Franklin (O’Neill) York, a couple who years ago discovered a chamber buried in their backyard which inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet. They’ve carefully guarded their secret ever
Sunday’s 78th Golden Globe Awards, the HFPA’s first-ever bicoastal and virtual show, was hosted by longtime collaborators Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who had previously hosted the event consecutively from 2013 to 2015. Not even these fan-favorite female powerhouses, however, could save the socially distanced soirée from soured ratings. Last night’s three-hour awards broadcast drew a mere 5.4
San Diego Comic-Con, the largest fan convention in North America, will not be held in person in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced on Monday. Instead, the event will be held virtually over three days, from July 23-25. In addition, Comic-Con International, the organization behind SDCC, is planning an in-person convention in San
Constance Wu has been cast in the upcoming Amazon thriller series “The Terminal List,” Variety has learned. She joins previously announced series lead Chris Pratt and recently announced fellow cast member Taylor Kitsch. The series follows James Reece (Pratt) after his entire platoon of Navy SEALs is ambushed during a high-stakes covert mission. Reece returns home to
CAA has signed Nathan Foad for representation in all areas, Variety has learned exclusively. He will continue to be represented in the U.K. by Ligeia Marsh and Emma Higginbottom at Curtis Brown. Foad is a television comedy writer and actor based in the U.K. He was recently selected to join the BBC Comedy Room initiative’s class of 2020,